SECOND LIFE: CEO's shadow

The night was too beautiful. That should have been my first warning.

I stood on the edge of the rooftop garden at the Vane Estate, looking out at the city of Oakhaven. From up here, forty stories high, the cars looked like tiny glowing bugs and the people didn't exist at all. The wind was cold, biting at my bare shoulders, but I didn't mind. I felt like I was on top of the world.

It was my twenty-fourth birthday. Downstairs, the ballroom was packed with the city's elite. I could hear the faint, muffled thrum of the orchestra playing a waltz. They were all there for me, drinking my father's vintage wine and celebrating the Vane name. But I had escaped the noise to find some peace. And to find Marcus.

I looked down at the "Vane Heart" emerald hanging from my neck. It was a massive, deep green stone that felt heavy and cold against my skin. My father gave it to me before he passed, telling me it was the soul of our family. I felt like a queen wearing it. I felt safe.

"There's my birthday girl."

I turned around, a smile lighting up my face. Marcus stood there, looking so handsome in his tuxedo. His sandy hair was perfectly pushed back, and his blue eyes seemed to sparkle under the moonlight. I loved him so much it hurt. I had spent the last three years giving him everything-my heart, my time, and a lot of my inheritance to help him build his dreams.

"You're late," I teased, stepping toward him. "I thought you were going to meet me here twenty minutes ago."

"I had to make sure everything was in place," Marcus said. His voice was smooth, but there was a strange edge to it. He didn't reach out to hug me. He stayed a few feet away, his hands tucked into his pockets.

"In place? What do you mean?" I asked.

A shadow moved behind one of the large marble pillars. A woman stepped out, smoothing her silk dress. It was Sienna. My best friend. My assistant. The girl I had treated like a sister since the day we met. She was wearing a smirk that made my stomach do a slow, sick roll.

"It means the paperwork is finished, Clara," Sienna said. She walked over to Marcus and slid her arm through his. She didn't look like a friend anymore. She looked like a predator who had finally cornered its prey. "The final transfer for Reed Development went through at midnight. You're officially broke."

I laughed, but it was a nervous, shaky sound. "Sienna, stop. That's not funny. Marcus, tell her she's being weird."

Marcus didn't move. He didn't look at me with love. He looked at me like I was a problem he had finally solved. "She isn't lying, Clara. Those 'charity' papers you signed this morning? They weren't for a hospital. They were the deeds to the Vane holdings. Every building,